Morocco

The Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية) was originally inhabited by Berbers and was known as Mauretania during the classical period. It was the Phoenicians that first built substantial settlements there, governing parts of present day Morocco as a colony as early as the 6th century BCE. As a province of the Roman Empire the region was known as Mauretania Tingitana, and after the fall of Rome it was briefly occupied by the Vandals and Visigoths before being incorporated into the Byzantine Empire. Most of the mountainous regions of present day Morocco remained unsubdued during this time period, inhabited only by native Berbers.

Arab invaders brought their language and Islam to Morocco in the late 7th century, but their control over the region was short-lived and between 739 and 743 the Berber population revolted and reclaimed their traditional lands. A series of small states and kingdoms would arise under Berber control, and eventually several dynasties would rule over all of Morocco from the 11th through the 13th centuries. Over the course of the following centuries, migrations would increase the Arab population dramatically, while many of the native Berbers returned to a nomadic way of life. By the 16th century, the Saadi Empire would rule over most of Morocco, followed in turn by the Alaouite dynasty, which would reign until 1912. Increased European interest in all of Africa, however, culminated in the Treaty of Fez (1912) which made Morocco a protectorate of France, although appointing Spain protector of much of the Saharan region and thus establishing Spanish Morocco. Unfair treatment under the French colonial system and a sense of nationalism would result in some violent outbreaks in the 1950s, leading ultimately to the granting of independence by both France and Spain in 1956.